1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piston, and more particularly, to a piston portion for a piston assembly and a piston assembly.
2. Statement of the Problem
In a piston assembly, a piston or plunger moves reciprocally in a piston chamber. A piston assembly can therefore be used to convert a fluid pressure into mechanical power or to convert mechanical power into a fluid pressure.
In pneumatic applications, it is often desirable to have a piston made of materials than are relatively light. For example, in pneumatic applications it is desirable to use a material that is lighter than metal. Metal components, such as a metal piston, have high moments of inertia and therefore take longer to accelerate and decelerate. Therefore, a piston component has in the prior art been formed of light, inexpensive materials such as plastic.
A drawback in the prior art is that plastic does not provide the rigidity and hardness of metal. A prior art plastic piston therefore can deform at high pneumatic pressures.